Meniga buys Swedish rewards platform Wrapp

Written by Hannah McGrath

11/01/19

Icelandic banking technology firm Meniga has acquired Wrapp, a Swedish rewards platform, in a deal aimed at rivalling Google and Facebook in the digital advertising space.

The deal was done for an undisclosed sum, with a view to combining their technologies and operations, according to a statement. Currently headquartered in London, Meniga has raised $34 million in funding since it was founded in Iceland in 2009.

It said the purchase of Wrapp, which uses machine learning to analyse and predict buyer behaviour and provide cashback on purchases, will enable the combined company to become the industry leader in rewards on purchases and transaction-driven marketing in the Nordics region.

Since 2016, Wrapp has integrated with six bank partners to provide integrated rewards and cashback schemes to more than 350 brands.

The deal will mean that Wrapp team will move into Meniga’s Stockholm office and expand its reach in Sweden and Finland.

As a result of the buyout, current Wrapp shareholders, including Nordea, will be paid with newly-issued Meniga shares and will become shareholders in Meniga, alongside Swedbank, UniCredit and Íslandsbanki.

Georg Ludviksson, chief executive and co-founder of Meniga, said in the context of changing consumer attitudes to use of their personal data, companies are expected to use it to deliver personalisation and value in a respectful and transparent manner.

“We believe that banks are in a unique position right now to deliver a compelling proposition to their customers while carving out a meaningful share of the digital advertising market – but banks need to act fast before others beat them to building scale in this space.”

Hjalmar Winbladh, co-founder and chairman of Wrapp, said: “Since Wrapp began, I have held a profound belief that this technology will change the game for digital marketing and give bricks and mortar businesses a competitive digital marketing channel that could rival Facebook and Google, whilst ensuring that consumers will get paid for lending out their data.”

Related Articles

Most read stories...

This website is a part of Perspective Publishing Limited, registered in England no 2876166. By using this website you agree to our COOKIE POLICY and PRIVACY POLICY.